You know, at first I wasn't sold on the whole poker thing, but thinking about it, it really makes sense that that game would be what Phoenix ends up spending so much of his time on.
Phoenix's whole life can honestly be described by 'being dealt bad cards all night but still managing to win'. Time and time and time again he has had setback after setback happen to him and he has had to manage to come out on top of it somehow. He even mentions that it's not unlike being in court, that it's all about reading people.
I think Phoenix started playing poker after his disbarment not just because he's good at it, but because it comforted him, in a way. I think part of it is the sense of agency it gave him, especially in a situation where he didn't have much, but also...
He says it himself, it reminded him of court.
Playing poker might've been his only other way to retain the feelings he felt when he was still cross-examining witnesses. It was his best bet of keeping that same fire burning, all those years, even if not as brightly. It wasn't the same, but I think it shows how much his job meant to him, to the point that it's very hard to seperate from who he is.
You can take the man from the courtroom, but you can't take the courtroom from the man, and all that
something came over me and I had to see it through
would you guys like to see some funny ace attorney screenshots?
welp too bad no choice for you
Curator: "Tsk! Virus detected breaching the 5th firewall encryption. It is heading towards the Parable's coding as we speak."
Narrator: "Not on my watch-"
Stanley: "[W-wait, wait! Can I come too?]"
Narrator: "Absolutely NOT. You stay right here and do whatever else you do whenever there's a breach in the system."
Stanley: "[That's the thing! There's nothing to do here! With the stories on hold, I can't just sit around and do nothing! I wanna help too! I'm just as a part of this Parable as everyone else here. And as much as I loathed this place sometimes, it's also my home.]"
Narrator: *grumbling* "Oh Bollocks! FINE. If you're so incessant. BUT I am NOT going to save your sorry arse if things go south."
Stanley: unfazed "[Sure, sure. Can we go now?]"
Mariella: "Any time now, you two! Virus is already outside the parable!"
Narrator & Stanley: Immediately teleports out of the Parable
Narrator: "Nasty little buggers aren't they? Are you sure you still wanted to help, Stanley? Hmm~? I could snap my fingers and bring you back inside the parable with the others where it's nice and safe because your strong and wonderful Narrator had valiantly fought the treacherous beasts of the-"
Stanley: *gulps nervously* "[No! M-My decision is final!]"
Narrator: *shrugs* "Suit yourself. It looks like this is going to be quite the handful. Fear not though, dear protagonist! Remember as the saying goes, 'If you can't beat them, beat them with a bat twice as hard'."
Stanley: "[That's not-]"
Narrator: "BATTER UP-!"
i know that a thousand people before me must have drawn trucy in edgey's case but i'm a basic bitch and i HAD TO cos i finally played soj and my brain is effectively rotten :v
CHAT. THE MAIN SIGVERSE ELEVATOR HITCH ACCOUNTS I FOLLOWED JUST DIVORCED. I AM A CHILD OF DIVORCE. (Technically I'm not since my DUMBASS never asked to be adopted) BUT STILL.
HELP WHAT THE FRICK IS GOING ON WITH THE SIGVERSE ROLEPLAY ACCOUNTS FOR ELEVATOR HITCH??-
It's like everyone is getting ANGST ANGST, MAJOR ANGST, HURT IN SOMEWAY, KILLED, ALMOST KILLED-
ig that crap builds character armor 🙏🙏🙏🙏
(shhh the lore is entertaining)
im surprised more people don't play around with stanley having an overactive imagination/possible dissociation since it's basically a proven thing he has. like as silly as the infinite hole ending may be, it still proves as one of my favs for just that bit of random stanley lore. leave that guy alone in a space for a while and he'll dissociate like his life depends on it.
The Lacey Games series is an interesting webseries, first presenting itself as a lost flash game upload, then presenting itself as a horror series, and finally showing its colors as a heartfelt piece about trauma.
*Heavy topics below, proceed with caution.*
Through mainly Lacey's Diner and Lacey's Petshop, it is shown that Lacey has suffered CSA and neglect from her uncle, starting at a young age. But this is found under a layer of 2000s-style flash games, presenting the perfect looking Lacey in a upbeat 2000s girl life. But of course, with this genre, the deeper you get into the game, the more the truth is revealed.
In other series following similar formats, this transition is used to amplify the feeling of the unexpected; taking something innocent and turning it into something horrific. But the Lacey Games series adds many more layers to this. You see, Lacey is an in-universe stand-in for the creator of the fictional games, Rocío Yani, who like Lacey, is a survivor of this trauma. In the cases of both Rocío and Lacey, they've already escaped their abusers. Lacey is a chef, a pet shop owner, and goes about her day to day life within these flash games. But despite escaping her physical situation, her past always leaks into the present. In Lacey's Petshop, she returns to the house she grew up in -- the house she was abused in. Just because she has escaped her abuse doesn't mean she's escaped her trauma or the ways that effects every other aspect of her life. And so, so many pieces of media don't recognize this.
Lacey also isn't the "perfect victim" that media likes to portray abuse survivors -- especially CSA survivors -- as. The whole climax of Lacey's Petshop is that she killed her uncle, her abuser. Not because she was actively trying to escape, but because he killed her dog. Lacey's Diner also implies that Lacey (and by extension, Rocío) deals with substance abuse, another thing that media discussion mental health loves to demonize. After she escapes her uncle, she still has these destructive habits, she still deals with self-h4rm and su1cidality. She wasn't just some innocent girl, she was a human being who had everything taken from her.
I believe the Lacey Games series can be powerful to people who have survived what Lacey has. Society and media recognize and accommodate victims until they break the mold of a "victim". Trauma doesn't go away with the situation, it persists throughout one's life and seeps into aspects that could otherwise seem normal. And the thing that makes this worse is the constant demonization of the "imperfect victim". We may not be killing our uncles or baking various health-violating items into food like Lacey does, but feeling like shit and going through shit doesn't make you a horrible person.
Thank you for reading. I wasn't quite sure how to end this, so I just did. If I got anything wrong, please make sure to tell me!
References below the cut:
Some info on long term affects of CSA
Ghosttundra's Channel
Sorry I had to use alternate letters for some words, I didn't want this getting overly flagged.
apollo looks at his boyfriend's performance
saw this post and felt inspired to make this
i can't believe apollo is canonically 5'5. has a flip phone with charms, ringtone is a song he likes by a band he hates. can't swim and doesn't like driving. good at random things, like astrology and hula hooping. keeps mangas in his work desk. used to watch doctor who. only reads the newspaper funnies. doesn't open up, no matter how much he's asked. dedicated to his favorite color. too serious, afraid of being seen as a joke. picked up a stray calico cat and named it calico. calls everyone san/mr/ms except his sister and his best friend. refers to himself as ore, masculine and a little rough. instinctually cleans when he sees a mess. can't control how loud he is. scared of heights. spent two months unemployed because he wouldn't work for someone who broke his trust. cries easily for people he loves. prickly, short-tempered. empathetic and loving. the son of musicians. simple, brown haired and brown eyed. plain. just a guy with passion and intensity and kindness. unwavering, unyielding
pronouns: he/they/she| I go by Kari or Kathari (you can chose)| Certified Defender Of Underrated Characters| I'm a pretty chill dude •••••••••••••••••••••PROSHIPPERS DNI.
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